CHAPTER XXII

IN Hebrew, the verb bo signifies “to come” as applied to a living
being, i.e., its arrival at a certain place, or approach to a certain person, as “Thy brother came (ba) with subtilty” (Gen. xxvii. 35). It next denotes (with regard
to a living being) “to enter” a certain place, e.g., “And when Joseph came (va-yabo)
into the house” (Gen. xliii. 26); “When ye come (ta-boü) into the land” (Exod. xii.
25). The term was also employed metaphorically in the sense of to come” applied
to a certain event, that is, to something incorporeal, as “When thy sayings come
to pass (yabo)” (Judg. xiii. 17); “Of that which will come (yaboü) over thee” (Isa.
xlvii. 13). Nay, it is even applied to privatives, e.g., “Yet evil came (va-yabo)”
(Job iii. 26); “And darkness came (va-yabo)” Now, since the word has been applied
to incorporeal things, it has also been used in reference to God — to the fulfilment
of His word, or to the manifestation of His Presence (the Shechinah). In this figurative
sense it is said, “Lo, I come (ba) unto thee in a thick cloud” (Exod. xix. 9);
“For the Lord the God of Israel cometh (ba) through it” (Ezek. xliv. 2). In these
and all similar passages, the coming of the Shechinah is meant, but the words, “And
the Lord my God shall come (u-ba)” (Zech. xiv. 5) are identical with “His word
will come,” that is to say, the promises which He made through the Prophets will
be fulfilled; therefore Scripture adds “all the holy ones that are with thee,” that
is to say, “The word of the Lord my God will be performed, which has been spoken
by all the holy ones who are with thee, who address the Israelites.”